Bowen to visit Portland schools as part of Promising Practices Tour

AUGUSTA, Maine – Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen will visit Riverton Elementary and East End Community schools in Portland on Friday as part of his Promising Practices Tour.

Both schools were identified as underperforming – one in 2009-10 and one in 2010-11 – and received School Improvement Grants. With the help of those grants and technical assistance from the Maine Department of Education, the schools have engaged in a number of promising practices.

Tour highlights will include, at Riverton: a writing and reading workshop illustrating a curriculum and instructional model the school has adopted; English Language Learner students working with iPads on language acquisition; and, embedded professional development through a facilitated grade-level meeting. At East End, the commissioner will observe the use of technology and an instructional coaching model in the classroom.

During Bowen’s Promising Practices Tour, which will take him to all nine superintendent regions in the state before the end of the school year, he plans to see the innovative practices schools are implementing that are showing promise and that are helping to advance the priorities in the Maine DOE strategic plan and the Governor’s ABC Plan for education.